Video Introduction: "It costs $30,000 a year to keep a juvenile locked up. Many states have therefore developed community-based alternatives to prison that have proven successful in reducing recidivism and helping young people develop into productive citizens."
Despite its reputation for being tough on crime, the state of Texas in the last ten years has developed some of the most progressive approaches to youth crime in the country. Realizing the high cost and limited effectiveness of imprisonment, Texas has begun treating most young offenders as kids who need help--even if they are armed and dangerous. These approaches are being backed by many seasoned law enforcement officials.
TARRANT COUNTY JUVENILE SERVICES
(NOT SEEN IN VIDEO-BACKGROUND INFORMATION)
Guided by the belief that early, appropriate and community-based intervention for young offenders is most likely to produce permanent change, Tarrant County's Juvenile Services has designed its programs with the goal of identifying problems and providing appropriate interventions at the earliest point. In 1996, the county adopted Texas State Progressive Sanction Guidelines, which provide a series of consequences and outcomes for juvenile offenders that are designed to balance public protection, offender accountability and rehabilitation. With the assistance of state funding, the department has developed a range of community-and home-based programs to form a comprehensive response for at-risk youth. Programs in the continuum range from prevention and early intervention to secure incarceration, designed to assist youth at each sanction level. Many of the services are provided by separate not-for-profit agencies.
Contacts:
Carey Cockerell, Director of Juvenile Services
Jerry Wood, Assistant Director of Juvenile Services
Tarrant County Juvenile Services
2701 Kimbo Road
Fort Worth, TX 76111
(817) 838-4643
(817) 838-4646 Fax
TARRANT COUNTY ADVOCATE PROGRAM (T-CAP)
Video Introduction: "TCAP helps keep kids out of prison by providing intensive supervision for them while they live at home. The program also offers "wrap-around" services that address wider educational, employment, health needs for the entire family."
As a part of Tarrant County's continuum of services, TCAP is a home-based intensive intervention program for high-risk, adjudicated juveniles and their families. It is part of a national non-profit umbrella organization, the Youth Advocate Program that bases all programs on a wrap-around service model that provides comprehensive services to families and kids. The program treats wider educational, employment, social and health needs of juvenile offenders on probation, as well as providing extended supervision under contract to the local probation department, to ensure they comply with the terms of their sentence. Their "wrap around" service addresses the needs of the whole family as well, by providing support, guidance, and economic assistance.
Research shows that mentoring is one of the most effective elements of intervention if it is structured and disciplined, with obligations demanded from the young person as well. T-CAP provides mentoring and intensive supervision by hiring local people to act as advocates for roughly $7 an hour. The advocate supervises the youth and coordinates services for the family for anywhere from fifteen to thirty hours a week, depending on the level of need. They take their clients to court, school, and community service, as well as to the beach, movies, and other leisure activities.
Another important factor in crime prevention is the development of job skills for youth. Because employers are especially reluctant to hire adjudicated young people, T-CAP conducts programs to encourage local businesses to give youth a chance and be tolerant of their initial differences. The program pays $5 per hour to the business, which in turn, uses the money to pay the youth's salary.
Contact:
Belinda Hampton, Director
T-CAP North
2235 N. Main
Fort Worth, TX 76106
(817) 625-4185
(817) 625-4187 Fax
Contact:
Tom Jeffers, President
Youth Advocate Program
2007 North Third Street
Harrisburg, PA 17102
(717) 232-7580
(717) 233-2879 Fax
SOUTHWEST KEY PROGRAM, INC.
Video Introduction: "This highly structured, secure residential facility in Dallas, Texas allows young offenders to receive counseling and learn discipline and responsibility as part of their transition back into the community."
The Southwest Key Program, Inc. offers a continuum of community-based programs for adjudicated juveniles in Texas, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Puerto Rico. In Dallas (featured in In Search of Law and Order: Reclaiming America's Kids), it operates a highly structured, secure residential facility where young offenders live, receive counseling, and learn discipline and responsibility to help their transition back into the community. Encouraging family involvement is an integral part of the treatment at Southwest Key.
Run by a Methodist minister, Reverend Martin McLee, the Southwest Key program in Dallas also demonstrates the vital role the church can play in the reintegration of young offenders. For youth that previously sought security and identity through affiliation with a gang, the church can offer the kind of acceptance that helps them live law-abiding lives when they finish their sentences.
Contact:
Anita Mennucci, Director of Communications
Southwest Key Program, Inc.
3000 South I-H 35, Suite 410
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 462-2181
(512) 452-4637
email: amennucci@swkey.org
